Rumble on Voyager
by Enterprise1701-d
Summary: *Completed* Aliens capture Voyager and drag off the crew. It's up to an ensign from Security and Naomi Wildman to take back the ship and rescue the crew.
1. part 1

**Rumble on Voyager. **Written by enterprise1701_d

The sleek form of the Federation starship USS Voyager was flying at high warp speeds through the star-speckled expanse of the Delta Quadrant. They had started out 70,000 light-years from the Federation, but thanks to a few helping hands under way, they now only faced another twenty to thirty thousand light-years. The trip would take another twenty years.

As usual, there weren't many people present in the mess hall on Deck 2 as Jack came off-duty. He had short, brown hair and gray eyes. He was of medium height, at about 1.7 meters. He entered the mess, only to find it empty. He turned to the three people who had come off-duty with him. Of course, this was one of the perks of being in the beta shift. 

Beta shift ran from 1500 hours to 2300 hours, and when they came off-duty, the nightshift provided all the peace and quiet one could ever want. More than often, though, the peace and quiet was more a burden than a blessing. 

Jack sat down at a table, and his three friends joined him as he expertly fished a deck of cards from his pocket. One of the benefits of this late hour, it had just turned 2315, was the fact that there was no Tuvok to reprimand them for playing cards in a public space. The Vulcan chief of security, who also doubled for tactical officer, was just the person to hold on to those petty little rules. 

"The game is five-card draw. Nothing wild," Jack said, shuffling the cards like a professional card shark. Jack looked around the small band of people. Paul was a little shorter than Jack was, and sported jet-black hair. Janet was shorter than Paul was, and had long blonde hair, falling all the way down to her shoulders if she didn't keep it in her usual ponytail. And finally, there was David. David was tall, and towered over his friends with a height of over 2 meters. Jack also knew the possibilities of David's body. He had seen it work out often enough. 

Jack got a cut from Paul, and dealt the cards. His poker face slid in place by instinct as he looked at his cards. 

The three men and the woman played cards, and generally had a good time, until it was nearly 0300, and they decided to call it a night. Bidding goodnight to his friends, Jack walked down to the ship's workout area. He entered, to find the place deserted. Sighing, he went ahead with his business. He loved peace and quiet during his workouts.

It was nearly 0700, the start of the alpha shift, as he returned to his quarters. Being only an ensign in security had earned him the privilege of being stuck in shared quarters. If Jack believed in a deity, he would have thanked him, her, or it, long ago for his roommate. His roommate only used the quarters for sleeping. The rest of the day, he was gone, hanging out who-knows-where. 

"Good old Chris," Jack muttered as he entered the quarters, to find his roommate fast asleep. Jack tiptoed to his own room, locked the door, and changed for his 'night'. 

_The time is 1400 hours. Wake up, Jack Dupré. The time is 1400 hours._

"Thank you, computer," Jack woke up quickly, and walked into the shared living room. Chris, who also worked the beta shift, was already gone. Jack went to the replicator, and ordered a bowl of cereal, with milk at a temperature of 5° Celsius, and a cup of coffee. The breakfast disappeared easily, and Jack brought the dishes back to the replicator, which turned them back into energy. 

"Computer, time?" Jack asked as he left his quarters. 

_The time is 1450._

"Thank you," Jack replied, and ran for a turbolift. Five minutes before his shift was to start, he entered Security. 

It was an uneventful beta shift, with very little but the obligatory security patrols to relieve the boredom. 

"Hey, Jack, wanna go for a repeat performance of last night?" Paul asked him about one hour before the shift ended. Last night, Jack was in really good shape during the poker game. They didn't actually play for anything, but the game was more a matter of honor between them. More often than not, the ones who hadn't won wanted to get even.

"Sorry, man," Jack grinned, and fished something out of his pocket. Showing it to his friend, he said: "I've got myself a holodeck for after the shift."

"Maybe tomorrow, then?"

"Sure, tomorrow's fine," Jack said to his friends as Janet and David joined the talk between Paul and Jack. 

"Good, I want to get even with you for last night," Janet said. "And have fun during your holodeck time." Janet's grin was so mischievous it made Paul and David grin as well.

"Come on, guys. It's nothing like that," Jack grunted. 

"Sure. I believe ya," David said with an expression on his face telling exactly the opposite. The good-hearted banter continued until the shift ended, and Jack left for the holodeck. 

"Empty holodeck," Jack said to the computer as he walked up to the large, sealed, double doors. The computer confirmed, and opened the holodeck. The large doors closed immediately after his entrance. 

"Computer, lock doors with personal encryption code. Emergencies only."

_Encryption in place. _

Jack dropped to his knees next to the door, and pried open an access panel. He took a small container that he had hidden in his vest, opened it, and removed an isolinear chip. Inputting it into an empty slot, he resealed the access panel. 

"Computer, access training programs under 'Section 31'."

_Training programs accessed._

"Get me Section 31, T'Pu's meditation chamber," Jack asked, and received after the computer acknowledged. Even though he no longer needed his Vulcan teacher's guidance, Jack found T'Pu's presence a helpful fact. He meditated for about an hour, granting his mind the release it needed from the continuous act it had to keep up. You see, Jack was not actually an ensign in Security. 

He was a deep-cover specialist for Section 31, a covert Starfleet intelligence agency. No one knew of its existence, given a few exceptions. Jack had been sent to investigate the possible funding that certain top brass of Starfleet would be giving the Maquis. Jack had gone undercover in the Maquis, trying to find out about the allegations. 

For two years, he drifted from cell to cell, his tremendous knowledge of covert operations helping him stay in favor with the Maquis, without giving out too much information, or raising suspicion as to where he got his knowledge. 

Then came that fateful day. His ship had been transported to the Delta Quadrant, and he had subsequently been transferred on board Voyager. For the first time, he was glad that Section 31 was the best in the business. His undercover record had been implemented not only in Starfleet's personnel records, but it had also been transferred into the actual Starfleet records. 

So, when Jack had transported on board Voyager, it didn't take long for Tuvok to find out that Jack had been a mediocre Starfleet academy student, with an equally unimpressive Security record. So, Jack was stuck. For 6 years now, had he played his role of mediocre Security officer. He had made mistakes, he had blundered, and he had made faulty assumptions. Basically, he had used every trick taught to him by Section 31 to avoid blowing his cover. 

But, the continuous strain took its toll: Jack needed this peaceful time to calm his mind, to lower his cover, even if it was just for an hour. Jack couldn't completely discard his cover though. That would take too long, and it would create problems with getting it back up.

Standing up, he thanked the T'Pu hologram for its assistance, a leftover from his Section 31 training. The T'Pu hologram responded with a manner that was identical to the real T'Pu.

"Computer, switch to Master Barwan's physical training," Jack asked, after leaving the simulated T'Pu's meditation chamber. The scene changed to a Klingon version of a fitness center. Jack had slaved for hours each day here, building his strength, while trying to keep his muscle mass down. Right now, Master Barwan was standing in the sparring ring. 

Jack got out of his uniform, down to his boxers. He jumped into the ring. 

Immediately, Barwan attacked. For a good ten minutes, the Barwan hologram gave Jack a workout. The best thing about learning martial arts from a Klingon was that it taught Jack to use his Human body to its limit. Where Klingons were strong and could take a lot of pounding, Jack's body was fast, could avoid blows quickly, and could do a lot of damage if used correctly. 

Basically, it was an almost even match. No matter how good Jack was, it was just not physically possible for him to overcome the evolutionary facts that were in the Klingon's advantage all the time.

After the first ten minutes, Jack ordered the computer to go to full training, and the Barwan hologram attacked vigorously. Jack responded with equal vigor, letting his body react naturally, just as he had been taught. He avoided two blows, and landed a hard blow in Barwan's stomach. The Klingon nodded in approval, and renewed the attacks. 

After thirty minutes of intense physical work, Jack ended the training. He was pleased his skills were still up to his normal standards, and showered in the simulated fitness center. 

He spent the last 15 minutes of his holodeck time talking to T'Pu. Jack found an inner peace and calm roll over him, as calm as the demeanor of the Vulcan hologram talking to him. It was like he was back at Section 31, going over his problems with his Vulcan teacher to find a logical answer to them. 

Jack ended his training by removing the data chip, and leaving the holodeck. He walked to deck 9, and entered his quarters, only to find that Chris hadn't returned yet. He spent some of his time reading up on some classified Section 31 manuals in his room, knowing very well that Chris never came into his room. And just in case, Jack had placed a security seal on his bedroom door. 

After a good 'night's' rest, Jack woke up and went to his duties as always. He was ten minutes early, as were his three friends. They talked about stuff in general before starting their duties. Again, the beta shift was uneventful, but all four were looking forward to their off-duty rotation, coming up in a couple of days. Their 8-hour shift seemed to crawl. Generally, not much happened during the beta shift, and this day was no exception. 

After the shift, the group of four snuck into the mess hall. Some other people of the beta shift were also present, but it didn't take long for the spacious mess to be devoid of people, except for the four security officers. Again, Jack's cards did their service, as the four friends played until it was at least 0300, and they decided to call it a night. 

Gamma shift ran from 2300 to 0700, and found the bridge manned by those officers who never would have gotten a chance for bridge duty otherwise. Contrary to the alpha shift, gamma shift was loose, and friendly. The late hours made for light cruising, without too many problems. Of course, there were the obligatory course corrections, but for the rest, the shift was passed by talking, and joking. 

"Sir, a cloud just appeared on sensors," the ensign at operations suddenly said. 

"Can't we go around it?"

"That will add at least one month to our journey!"

"And through it?"

"The cloud will disrupt sensors, and I think our shields won't like that cloud either. The journey through will only take about a week."

"Damn. Computer, time?"

_The time is 0300._

The officer on duty made a brave decision. "Bridge to Captain."

_What is it?_ Captain Janeway's voice sounded…disturbed, to say the least. Although physically not impressive, she was surrounded by an aura of command, and it radiated even through her voice. 

"We have encountered a cloud, captain." Everyone knew that Captain Janeway preferred 'captain' to 'sir', or 'ma'am'. 

_So? Fly around it!_

"Captain, that will add a month to our journey!" The officer's palms were sweating, and the rest of the officers felt sorry for the poor guy squirming in the command chair. 

_Can we go through?_ Her voice has softened considerably. The officer sighed in relief. 

"Yes, captain. The trip will be down to a week, but sensors will be limited to almost useless and our shields will probably be down as well."

_Go through it. _The captain decided._ You did well to contact me._

"Thank you, captain. Good night captain." The connection broke, and the officer sunk in the command chair, his shoulders slumped. 

"Are you alright?" the young woman at the conn asked. 

"Yeah. Take us through, Melinda. Plot the fastest course, and get us through."

The young woman nodded, and tapped her console. With a sign of the officer on duty, the main viewer showed the magenta cloud, stretching out before them. Then, they were all surrounded by the magenta and ochre colors, which seemed almost liquid when the ship traveled through it. 


	2. part 2

**Rumble on Voyager. **Written by enterprise1701_d

**Chapter two.**

Alpha shift had just started, and the alpha shift crew was fresh and relaxed. Their peace wasn't to last.

"Incoming distress call, it's heavily distorted by the nebula, that's probably why we didn't pick it up earlier," Harry Kim reported. 

"Come to a full stop, Tom. Where is it coming from?" Janeway asked.

"I can't pinpoint it exactly. The nebula is jamming our sensors," was the answer from the ops station. 

"Ahead half impulse," Janeway ordered. "Make sure that navigational sensors are set for a wide beam."

"Aye, Captain," was the response from the helm. 

The next moment, ten armed aliens materialized on the bridge, rifles drawn. They all were very heavily armed, with not only a rifle, but a hand weapon as well. Their armor was not something she had seen before, consisting of a full armored body suit, as well as a helmet, which covered the face as well. 

"I demand to know why you have-" Janeway was cut off by the nearest alien, who brutally slapped her the butt of his rifle into her stomach. 

"Silence!" he demanded. One of the aliens nodded, and although his facial expression was hidden, Kim thought he saw something as smug superiority in his posture. The same heavily armored alien stepped forward, and barked:

"Captain Kathryn Janeway, we take your crew in custody, and we have impounded your vessel. Release the command codes, and you will be treated fairly."

"Computer, activate auto-destruct, ten minute countdown, authorization Janeway omega-nine," Janeway shouted, dodging another blow from the same alien who hit her before.

_Auto destruct enabled. Ten minutes till auto-destruct. Warning! Nine minutes 55 seconds till auto-destruct. Crew is advised to evacuate the ship._

"Big mistake, captain," the lead alien spoke. He tapped the communications device attached to his wrist. The viewer lit up, showing a terrified Naomi Wildman. The six-year-old was the ship's only child, and Captain Janeway had developed a protective streak towards the child. So did most of the crew, for that matter. 

"Captain!" the child screamed. "They…they say they'll hurt me!" the child was terrified, and Janeway's heart broke. 

"Cancel the destruct, or we will make sure the child wishes she was dead as well," the leader addressed Janeway.

Janeway made up her mind in less than a second. "Computer, cancel destruct sequence, authorization Janeway omega-nine." 

_Auto-destruct cancelled._

A device on the lead alien's wrist chimed at the same moment. He tapped it. 

_We have control over engineering._ A second voice then said: _patrols have been established on all decks._

The lead alien tapped it again. "Resistance is useless. We have your ship," he said to the bridge crew in general. "Now, release the command codes to me," the alien said to Janeway in particular. He turned to one of the aliens standing next to him, and said: "A species is easily controlled through its offspring. Remember that." 

The addressed alien just dipped his head in acknowledgement. 

"I can't do that!" Janeway protested. 

In response, the leader turned to the screen, and pressed a button on his communicator. The screen lit up again. "She refuses to cooperate. Break a finger."

The girl started screaming as the bulky alien standing behind her grabbed her left hand. His other hand took one of the girl's small fingers. Naomi screamed in a crazy panic, struggling against the bulk of the massive alien holding her hand and finger. 

"No!" Janeway screamed. "I'll do it! Don't hurt her!" the alien stopped, and looked at his leader, who, in turn, looked expectantly at Janeway. 

"Computer, release command codes, authorization Janeway-blue-omega-red-three-six."

_Command codes released._

"Good. Now, order your crew to assemble in cargo bay one, and to cooperate with us in every way."

"All hands, this is the Captain. Condition indigo. Proceed to cargo bay one."

"Very good, captain," the leader said, and proceeded to herd the present Starfleet officers into the turbolift, making sure that there were at least three guards with them at all times. 

Jack awoke brutally from his sleep.

_Auto destruct enabled. Ten minutes till auto-destruct. Warning! Nine minutes 55 seconds till auto-destruct. Crew is advised to evacuate the ship._

Jack nearly shed his skin as he heard the computer voice announce its deadly message. If the ship was set to self-destruct there was nothing he could do, but do what everyone else was doing: await the inevitable. 

_Auto-destruct cancelled._

"Not good, normally the captain adds a personal message to reassure everyone," Jack grunted, and jumped out of his bed. He grabbed some clothes, and ran from his quarters, sweeping around him to see if there was anyone else present. If his suspicions were correct, and they usually were, then he would need to hide, and get his act together. He had jumped in his pants, pulling them over his pajama pants, as the next message confirmed his fears.

_All hands, this is the Captain. Condition indigo. Proceed to cargo bay one._

"I was right. She called a Condition Indigo," Jack grunted aloud, putting on his uniform jacket. "Computer, five-second delay, initiate transporter sequence A-2 on my comm-badge signal. Override Dupré-delta-four." He removed the badge from his tunic, and threw it behind him as he ran for a Jeffries tube. The badge shimmered in the transport beam, then disappeared, it's atoms dispersed over the complete range of the transporter. Jack remembered the textbook explanation of Condition Indigo: in event of a hostile takeover, all Starfleet personnel are to attempt to organize a resistance movement. In case this is impossible, the crew is advised to simulate cooperation, in order to provide cover for those who might be able to do so anyway.

He ducked into the first Jeffries tube he could find, and crawled his way as fast as he could. The ship's service tube system provided an excellent, if uncomfortable, mode of transport. Without his communicator, he couldn't contact the computer whenever he wanted, and he cursed himself for his oversight. He could use an update on Voyager's status. When he reached the next junction, he ripped a panel from the wall, and put the data chip, which he had managed to grab, thankfully, in a slot he vacated. 

"Computer, initiate program labeled DA, authorization Dupré-Section 31."

_Program has been completed._

DA, or Decease Agent, was a Section 31 program. It initiated a worm, listing him as deceased. It was curious that a computer would say that Jack was deceased, even though his life-signs were running around the place. He ripped the data chip from the system, and put the panel back, not bothering to replace the secondary interlink processor he had just removed. Time was of the essence, and besides, Voyager had the primary and secondary neural gel pack systems and the primary optical interlink processor to fall back on before this one was needed. 

He crawled through the tubes as fast as he could; racing toward the one place he knew he would be safe. His mind recalled his training subconsciously.

_18-year-old Jack Dupré shot out of his bed along with the 25 other students in his room. 500 students in all ran from the rooms, into the 'safe area', nothing more than an empty cargo bay, really. Training hadn't been going on for more than 2 months, but already Jack was aware that some students wouldn't make it. the haunted look in their eyes, the consistent stress they were under was beginning to take its toll._

_The teacher in charge of emergency procedures was awaiting the students in the safe area, holding a clipboard. His gray eyes were as cold as ice._

_"Anderson, Amy. Andries, John,…" the teacher droned twenty names from the list. One by one, twenty students approached the man. "You're dismissed." The teacher said. The remaining students looked at one another. Everyone knew what this meant. The twenty selected weren't going to make it. Everybody in the program knew that Section 31 placed secrecy above all else, and the students didn't know whether or not the drop-outs would actually be allowed to leave, or rather be relocated to some other, less enduring, training program._

_They all hoped for the last option._

Janeway had been herded; along with about every other member of her crew, into cargo bay one. She could see how the aliens brought in small groups of crewmembers, usually two or three at a time, with a lone wolf every now and then.

"Tuvok? Who isn't here yet?" Janeway whispered to her security chief after she saw two more members enter the bay under cover of their alien captors.

"I believe we are still missing Jack Dupré, one of my security people, and the doctor, captain," he responded. The Emergency Medical Hologram, just 'doctor' to the crew, was one of the most capable of initiating Condition Indigo.

"That's all? Out of a crew of over 140 people, just those two?"

"May I remind you, captain, that Condition Indigo is one of the most difficult tactics to engage in?" 

"You're right, Tuvok. I still feel uncomfortable with them holding Naomi," the captain said with her voice vibrating slightly. "Who is this Dupré? Good man?"

"He's known to make mistakes, captain. Yet, he is still a security officer."

Typically Tuvok; honest to the bone, even if it meant taking away what little hope they had.

Jack had reached where he had set out to go: the nacelle monitor station. Its proximity to the ship's warp nacelles, part of the ship's faster-than-light drive, generated a good amount of interference, certainly when the ship was traveling at warp, which masked his life-signs perfectly. He calmed down, clamped down his feelings, and emptied his mind. He needed to get back into what he called 'Section 31 mode'. Sparring and meditating on a holodeck was completely different from reclaiming a Federation starship, against who knows how many to one odds. He felt the hard secret agent inside him stir at the thought of having to readjust. 

He paced the small room, building up his internal strength. His emotions were wrapped in a hard layer of professionalism, and hid deep down in his heart. He focused on his tasks, and found himself thinking straight for the first time in years, indicating that he had completely shed the cover of Jack Dupré, Ensign, and had reverted back to Jack Dupré, secret agent. Unbeknownst to him, almost an hour had passed during his little ritual needed to get back to his real self. So deep ingrained was the cover that Jack had needed that large amount of time to revert back to his real self. 

He felt a shudder coarse through the ship, and he immediately knew what had happened: the ship had gone to warp. A glance at the read-outs confirmed his thoughts.

_Now that we're at warp, my signs will be cloaked better. Now is my time to get to a replicator, and get the equipment I need. _

He got out the same way he had gotten in, through the Jeffries tube. It didn't take him long to reach the nearest food replicator. He looked around, scanning for anyone who wasn't supposed to be there, Section 31 training having now completely taken over his actions. He was unarmed, but even unarmed; the agent was a formidable threat. 

Jack took the data chip from its hideout, and put it in an empty slot in the compartment beneath the replicator. "Computer, Section 31, covert ops gear, Starship reclaiming mode." He whispered, and hoped to God that the aliens were too busy to monitor the power levels. 

It took ten seconds for the computer to turn the necessary energy into the requested material form, and one backpack and a black outfit appeared in the slot. He shed his uniform, and dressed in the provided clothing. He ordered his uniform and his pajama pants to be destroyed in a similar manner to his communicator.

He opened the backpack, took a strange looking communicator from it, and slapped it on his chest on the same spot where his Starfleet communicator was normally located. The new communicator was of Section 31 design; designed to be able to access the computer and the communications systems, yet without running the risk of being detected by the internal sensors. He then took the tricorder from the backpack, and made sure it was working properly. The hand-held sensory device was now being used for a completely different purpose. 

"Good. It has been masking my life-signs since it was materialized," Jack nodded his approval. The tricorder was tuned to his specific life-signs, masking them from a wide range of sensor devices. Jack just hoped that these aliens' sensors were in that range. That is, if they were using their own sensors instead of the internal sensors of Voyager. Jack had been trained to deal with every contingency. He couldn't place his trust in the fact that he was completely invisible to Voyager's sensors. 

Janeway and her crew had been transported to the alien ship's cargo bay, breaking the morale of her crew even further. Now they had not only been attacked and imprisoned, but also abducted from their home. The next moment, the alien cargo bay doors opened. The same lead alien as before entered.

"We have transported the child to Voyager," he began, "as insurance. In case you do something stupid, we will not hesitate to take it out on her." He turned and left, before anyone even had a chance to respond. 

"Tuvok, what are our chances?" Janeway finally asked.

"I have to be honest, captain. Our chances are slim. It all depends on how many intruders were left on Voyager. If only a skeleton crew has been provided, chances are reasonably good that ensign Dupré and the doctor will be able to reclaim the ship. If an entire security force has been left there, however…" 

"I see," she responded. "We have to do something," she answered.

Tom Paris, who had been nearby, answered: "With all due respect, captain, but they're holding Naomi on Voyager. If we do something, and it gets back to Voyager…" his voice trailed off.

"Then we'll just have to make sure that it doesn't get back to Voyager," Janeway responded crisply. 

"We are unfamiliar with the lay-out of this ship, captain. Disabling communications will be harder than it looks," Tuvok answered. 

"Oh, boy," Janeway grunted. "This is going to be a long day."

Jack had by now returned to the nacelle monitor station. He put down his backpack, and opened it, now having time to get himself geared up. He clipped the holster on his belt, and put the special phaser in it. The weapon was configured not to draw attention of the ship's internal sensors when fired. It resembled the 20th century weapon known as a handgun. Jack had found that such a configuration allowed for better hand control then the standard phaser.

He put the tricorder, and it's holder, on the other hip. He then took a small device from the pack, and stuck it onto the screen of the diagnostics terminal. He then took a screen-with-keyboard, and pressed a key. The screen lit up as it established an independent connection with the ship's computer. Although much slower than the ship's computer, the independent connection allowed Jack to tap into security systems, internal sensors, and ship's databanks without using the computer core, thus remaining undetected as he conducted his inquiries.

"Computer, how many unidentified life-forms on board Voyager?" he waited patiently for the computer to process his request. Normally, it would have been instantaneous, now he had to wait ten of the longest seconds in his life.

_There are currently 25 unidentified life-signs on Voyager._

"Display tactical view of Voyager, with a full life-sign spread diagram."

_Processing._

The computer complied, again after a nerve-wrecking wait, and Jack studied the read-outs.

"Computer, were is the crew of Voyager?"

_The crew left the ship at 0815 hours._

"0815, that's … twenty minutes ago. Damn, they've been abducted! Wait a minute… computer, identify this life-form," he asked, tapping one of the life forms. It was fainter, totally unlike the aliens. 

_Life form is identified as Naomi Wildman, civilian._

Jack's thoughts raced. _Civilian. That's why she didn't show up when I asked where the crew was. And what would they want with Naomi? I have to find out. Maybe the security recordings can help._ "Computer, display security file of the bridge, starting at 0700."

_Unable to comply, insufficient clearance._

Jack used the data chip again, and said: "Computer, update records of Voyager with the personnel file of this chip."

_Records updated. Maximum clearance granted, Agent Jack Dupré._

"Computer, display the records I asked for earlier, and initiate Section 31 security protocols on my file."

_Personnel records of Agent Jack Dupré have been classified top-secret. _

The computer then played the files. Jack's impassive face belied the anger he felt inside. How dare they use a _child_ for their schemes? He was outraged. He saw how the alien herded the bridge crew into the lift, leaving only two aliens behind, one who planted himself in the command chair, the other one sat down at the helm. Not long after, Naomi was transported onto the bridge, surrounded by five guards. One alien covered her, while the rest took various stations. The time indicator told him this was less than ten minutes ago. Jack sighed.

"The Operations station was manned during my little operation. Damn," he muttered. He fast-forwarded the file up until this very moment, and he was looking live onto the bridge. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; Jack's scheme had gone unnoticed. Of course, he had suspected as much, since no alerts had been called since his access to the replicator.

_Now, I have to rescue Naomi. What's the best way to do this?_

Jack immediately dismissed a couple of thoughts. He couldn't storm the bridge. Naomi could get hurt. He could sedate them with Anestazine gas, but he didn't know how much would have negative effects on the child, and not enough gas would mean the aliens would detect his scheme immediately, and retaliate, possibly by hurting the child. He would have to access transporters. And using the transporters for something other than disposing of stuff would show up on the Operations station. He would have to make damn sure his access was encrypted.

He packed the screen and the device back into his backpack, got up, and disappeared into the Jeffries tube. 

_"Very well done, Jack. Now, tell the others of your class what you did, so they might learn from you," the teacher in charge of sabotage & undercover operations said to his student._

_Jack just dipped his head. "I followed routine 49-alpha, sir. I used the phase-variance problem in the Romulan warbird's warpcore. By destabilizing it, I managed to mask my life-signs. As such, I was able to use the maintenance tubes without being detected. Under cover of the sensor black-out, I assassinated the Governor, after which I beamed out."_

_"You see? This was all that there was to it!" the teacher shouted over the remaining 150 students in the aula. The program had been going on for nearly a year now. "I don't care about elaborate sensor hoaxes, or ditto transporation programs. The job needs to be done good, quick, and stealthy."_

_It had barely been a year, and already Jack could feel the training reaching its effect: he remained cool under the teacher's shouts, not indicating the fact that he felt smug about his awkwardly simple solution. _


	3. part 3

**Rumble on Voyager**. Written by Enterprise1701_d

**Chapter three**

Jack didn't get very far. He wasn't 10 meters out of the nacelle monitor station, before he halted his progress toward the transporter. He had realized something.

_If I get Naomi out, they'll contact the other ship. Who knows what might happen? They could hurt the crew, or could start executing them. There's no way I can get this ship home by myself… I can make it go for a day or two, but I can't replace an entire crew!!_

So, he turned 180° and went back into the monitor station he had vacated not long ago. 

_I'm slipping more than I thought! Damn this long undercover mission!_

Jack closed his eyes, and used T'Pu's meditation exercises to calm himself. He couldn't allow himself to make mistakes due to stress, anger, or anything else _human_. 

_So, first things first. I can rescue Naomi using the transporter. Second, I need to deactivate the communications array, so the aliens can't contact their ship. Now, what else? Without communications, would they still want to contact their ship? Probably more than ever. How to accomplish this? Ah, yes, of course. Turn Voyager around, and go after the other ship. _

Jack opened his backpack, and took his computer access device, commonly known as SLCARS, short for Secured Library Computer Access And Retrieval System. He connected it to a nearby panel, and accessed the external sensor logs, as well as the long-range sensor logs. He looked for the alien ship.

He found it to be bulky, almost undetectable in the background of the cloud, and when the two ships had cleared the nebula, it had gone to 'warp', the sensors indicating only warp 2.2 as its speed. Jack looked at a close-up of the vessel, and found it hard to believe that the ship was capable of anything beyond that speed. 

_So, given Voyager's warp 9.975 top sustainable speed, it wouldn't take very long to catch up with them. Then I'd better get rid of the engines, too. Maybe I'll better wait for a few more hours, which would put enough space between the alien ship and Voyager. It'll be more difficult to rescue the crew, but they'll survive. It will make my job here easier, and this is the more important part of my mission._

A slight smile crossed his face as his mind brought up a theme to an ancient show, of the late 20th century, called 'Mission Impossible'. That certainly seemed to fit the picture now. He pushed the thought out of his mind. He would need to be fresh when he started this. Jack did keep an eye on Naomi, and he found it amusing that the aliens didn't suspect that they were being watched. 

Around noon, he opened a ration bar. His time in the Section 31 training facility had taught him to appreciate the dry flavor of the ration bars. After surviving for a month on them, he had gotten used to their flavor, or lack thereof. 

_"This is Isolation Training," the teacher in charge of Extreme Environments and Hostile Interrogation Methods said. Jack hated this course. It taught the 25 remaining students how to counter torture, how to displace your mind so you wouldn't feel pain while being tortured. It was also this course that taught how to deal with being stranded on barren worlds, be they ice worlds or desert worlds. Jack closed his eyes as he entered the barren room. _

_Nothing was in it, except for a bed. It was confined as well, mimicking an isolation cell he would no doubt encounter if he were ever caught. The door locked behind him, and Jack sat down on the bed, calming his mind. He had not been told how long his isolation would last, to add to the torture. This was a make-or-break test. Either he survived, or he didn't. _

_Jack closed his eyes, and allowed himself to wander. Leaving the cell, he thought of Aria, the beautiful woman who was also in the program. A small smile crept up on Jack's face before he slammed a shield on it. he and Aria would graduate from the program, live the exited life for a few years, and use the small fortune Section 31 paid to set up a life, get married, have children, and grow old together. _

_For a full month, Jack was kept in isolation. Being fed nothing but dry ration bars and about a liter of water a day, his body lost weight rapidly, and his mind was under constant stress. One thing kept him sane: Aria. She was his anchor, and there was no doubt in his mind they would be talking together they evening that he got out of isolation. _

At 1300 hours, Jack decided that the time had come. He had entered a few programs into the main computer during his waiting period, and after a final check, he left the nacelle monitor station. He had made sure that the station was clear of anything that might alert the aliens to his presence here. 

He made his way through the maze of Jeffries tubes to transporter room one. After crawling through the eleven decks, and half the length of the ship, he accessed the transporter through his SLCARS. The transporter program popped up on the screen. Jack was now sure he could transport Naomi, and the only prior indication would be the transporter energizing. 

Jack knew that, if the aliens were good at their jobs, they could beam her right back, and him along with it, if he made a mistake now. He re-routed the transporter signal through the main deflector dish, making it appear as if it originated from 200 kilometers off the port bow. He masked the Federation signal of the transporter, and his mind searched for some alternative. It was an old trick: to make ones transporter signal appear as if it were someone else's. He decided against it. The longer he was here, the higher his chances of getting caught became. 

After making sure he had masked his location, and the Federation transporter signal, he locked on to Naomi Wildman's life-signs. The transporter shimmered, and her image appeared 2 seconds after he had energized. 

He disconnected the SLCARS, and ran towards the confused girl. 

"Computer, activate programs Dupré one, and Dupré two!" he shouted to the computer. "Come on, hurry!" he shouted to the girl, extending his arm. To her credit, she raced toward him, grabbed his hand, and ran along with him to the Jeffries tube. 

_Programs completed._ The female computer voice noted through Jack's special communicator.

"Who are you?" she asked after they had disappeared into the maze. 

"Jack Dupré," Jack answered, not looking behind him as he guided them through the maze. "I'm a …" Jack thought for a moment. He would need his Section 31 tricks, and she was bound to find out. "I'm a secret agent."

"Where are we going?" the girl asked, having accepted his story. Wonder did tint her voice, however. A real secret agent! 

"Nacelle monitor station. It masks our signs from the computer." 

"Ah," the girl just said, panting slightly as she tried to keep up with the secret agent.

Not ten minutes later, the two were safe in the monitor station, and the girl flung herself in his arms. 

"I was so scared!" she sobbed. "I thought they would hurt me… or mom, or the captain, or Seven…"

Jack's training had included some basic diplomatic lessons, but those were focused on getting information from people, not consoling sobbing six-year-old girls who had just been kidnapped. He put his arms around her as well, and just held her. He was about to tell her she was safe now, but decided against it. They both weren't safe yet. Not in a long shot. He just held her, allowing her to release the tension she had been under for so long. This was one time Jack was happy he liked kids. He doubted if he could stand it otherwise. 

_Like Aria… She liked kids, too. We wanted to have kids. Oh, Aria._

"You're a spy?" she finally asked, after she had calmed down. Jack released her, and looked into her face, now filled with wonder. 

Jack grinned at her, "Yep," he said. "The real thing." His thoughts on Aria had disappeared again. 

"Waw!" the girl said, in wonder. Jack looked her over. She seemed to be all right. 

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" he asked in a friendly voice. He knew that he should try to keep the cold harshness out of his voice, for her sake.

"Since last night," Naomi said, as if noticing she was hungry for the first time. Jack nodded, and his face indicated just what he thought of aliens who would starve a girl like that. He reached into his backpack, and gave the girl two ration bars. "Here," he said, "Those will make you feel a lot better."

The girl reached over, took the bars, and began to wolf them down as if they were the most delicious things in the universe. Jack didn't bother to hide his amusement. After not having eaten for so long, anything would taste good. 

After the girl had eaten the bars, and drained Jack's water bottle, Jack took an access panel off the walls, and put in the data chip. 

"Computer, note a commission for Naomi Wildman, namely a commission as Section 31 Agent, authorization Dupré-Section 31," Jack said, giving a wink at the girl. She smiled in barely contained enthusiasm. 

_Commission noted._

"Computer, initiate program labeled DA on Agent Wildman," Jack used her new title, and the girl was enthusiastic, of course. "Authorization Dupré-Section 31."  

_Program has been completed._

"What did you just do?" Naomi asked, curiosity in her voice. 

"I just killed you," Jack said with a straight face. As the girl made a sour face at him, he elaborated: "Now the computer will say you're dead when the aliens try to use the computer to locate you. And with your commission as Section 31 Agent, you'll be invisible to the internal sensors as soon as I can get you to a replicator."

"Cool!" the girl exclaimed, her voice tinged with excitement. Who wouldn't want to save the ship at the side of a real secret agent?

Jack accessed the SLCARS, and looked at the internal sensors. As Jack had suspected, the aliens hadn't detected that the transport originated from inside the ship. It would take a level-two operative to notice it. He suspected that only B'elanna Torres, the ship's chief engineer, could do it. Maybe the captain could, too, but of that he wasn't sure. He knew of her scientific background, but he didn't know her that well. 

"The aliens are very busy trying to determine what cloaked ship has abducted you," Jack grinned conspiratorial to the girl. "And they're also wondering why the communications and propulsion systems aren't working anymore." 

"You blocked the communications and propulsion systems? Wow!" the girl laughed. "You're good, aren't you?"

"Nah," Jack shook his head. "I'm the best," he added. "Don't look at me like that. It's the truth. I passed the training as the top of my group. Now, let's get you to a replicator, so you can get some equipment."

"How?" Naomi asked as she entered the Jeffries tube directly behind Jack. 

"Special replicator instructions," he said. "We have to be very quiet."

"I understand," the girl said, and the small trip passed in total silence. Jack once more opened the panel below the replicator, entered his chip, and ordered the gear for Naomi. Only the uniform was shrunk to her size. The backpack was still the same as to the one Jack was carrying. He opened the backpack, and gave her the special tricorder.

"Put this on," Jack whispered to her, after opening the device briefly. "It camouflages you from internal sensors."

Apparently, Naomi's signs weren't covered fast enough. A red alert sounded. 

"Damn," Jack muttered. "The power drain must have alerted them, and they saw you on internal sensors. The good news is they only know about you. Maybe we still stand a chance. You're invisible now, let's head back to our hideout, but we'll have to be on the extreme alert."

Jack was already disappearing down the Jeffries tube, carrying the two backpacks. Naomi just picked up the new uniform, and struggled after Jack down the narrow tube. 

"Dress up," he told her. "And pin this to your tunic," he held out a special communicator, like the one he was wearing. 

"Here?" the girl asked uncertainly.

Jack looked at her, and suddenly realized why she was reluctant. "Oh, right. Trust me, I don't have time to ogle you while you're changing," he promised her, turning his back to her, tapping away at the SLCARS. 

The girl stood undecided for a couple of more seconds, then shed her clothes and put on the uniform. It fit perfectly, and she felt more comfortable in it than in her normal clothes. This little fact surprised her. 

"So, what do we do now?" she asked, sitting down next to Jack after pinning the communicator on her tunic. 

"In your backpack you'll find a phaser, and a holster for it. I want you to put it on. I know you won't be able to pull the trigger, don't worry, but it's better to be safe than sorry," he motioned to the backpack on the floor, and resumed his task. 

Naomi, trusting Jack completely, did as he asked, and put on the belt, holster, and phaser. Suddenly, the ship started moving again. 

"Damn, they've broken my program," Jack muttered. "They're better than I thought."

"You mean, we're going back to mom?" the girl asked, her voice was almost shrieking.

"Only to tell them that you've disappeared. We can't let them, or they'll hurt your mother, and the rest of the crew," Jack told her. 

The girl looked at him, shocked. "What can we do?"

"We need to disable the engines. Permanently enough so they won't be able to fix it, but easy enough for us to do so."

"How can we do that?" she asked, looking up at his seriously looking face. 

"We remove some parts from the ship's drive system," Jack stated matter-of-factly. He pulled up a plan of Voyager on his SLCARS. "We need to do the comm. system at the same time. If they've broken the propulsion lockout, that one can't be far behind."

"What can I do?" Naomi asked. 

"It's too risky for you to be running around alone, Sweetie," he said. "I wouldn't want you to get captured again, which is a distinct possibility."

The girl obviously looked disappointed. "You'll be safe here," Jack promised. "All they've got is a flash of your life signs. They know you're on the ship, they just don't know where. The bad news is, if they know you're here, they also know that someone had to beam you off the bridge. Our only chance is that they don't know who they're dealing with," 

"Can't I go with you?" she asked, giving him the puppy-dog-eye look little girls seem to inherit genetically.

Jack looked at her. "It's best if you just stay here, Sweetie. If you want to talk to me, tap the communicator. It doesn't use the internal communications system, so it's perfectly safe. When you tap it, mine will vibrate. I'll contact you as soon as I can."

"Why does it vibrate?" the girl asked, curious.

"Vibrating is safer than an audio signal. When I'm trying to sneak up on someone, it's not very good to have my communicator beep, now is it?" he grinned at her. "And don't worry. When I contact you, yours will vibrate too. It's only when the called responds verbally that a communications channel is established." Jack tapped his communicator. 

Naomi giggled as she felt the vibrating communicator on her chest. She tapped it, and Jack's vibrated. To her surprise, he didn't react to it, apart from an "It's working fine."

"I've been trained not to let it show," Jack explained. Naomi nodded. 

"Now, the first thing I have to do is get to deck ten. I need to take the primary reactor offline. That'll disrupt the ship's functions pretty badly. Then, I'm going to deck six, and disable the field distortion amplifiers. Without those, there is no deflector shield, and without a deflector shield, there is no warp travel. Then, I am going to disable the communications array," Jack told her, completely explaining what he was going to do to keep the girl at ease. 

"Why aren't you going after communications first? I mean, isn't that the most important?"

"As soon as I disable the reactor, there won't be enough power for communications anyway," Jack grinned. 

"Right," the girl nodded. 

"Give me your tricorder for a minute, Sweetie. I just got an idea." 

Naomi removed the device in question from her belt, and handed it over to Jack. He motioned her over. "This is a trick you'll be able to use later in life," he told her. He slowly tapped the device, allowing the girl to memorize the instructions. 

"Here," he gave the tricorder back to Naomi. "Now the tricorder will warn you if an alien gets too close. If it happens, run for the nacelle control station on the other side of the ship. It'll be identical to this one, and you'll be shielded there too. Now, I want you to do something else as well. When the main reactor goes off-line, the nacelles will stop functioning. With your tricorder you should be safe, but I don't want to take any chances. Run for cargo bay two, on deck 8. Hide there, and use your tricorder to keep you notified of any aliens. There is a pair of contact lenses in the right pocket of your pants. Use them to navigate through the Jeffries tubes, because I'll be turning off all the lights in there."

"Right. When the reactor goes, use contacts, and run to cargo bay two," the girl repeated. 

"That's my girl," Jack said, petting her head. "Now, I have to go."

Naomi stopped him. "What is it, Sweetie?" he asked. To his surprise, she hugged him, gave him a kiss on his cheek, and said: "Good luck, Jack."

He smiled widely at her, nodded, and said, "Thanks. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Jack then disappeared down the Jeffries tube.


	4. Part 4

**Rumble on Voyager**. Written by Enterprise1701_d

**Chapter four**

Jack left through the Jeffries tubes, and slowly made his way to main engineering. The large two-story room was located on deck ten, and was connected to the Jeffries tube system. Unfortunately for Jack, when he got there, he found that there were ten aliens guarding the room, and more might be hiding outside his view.

Forcing himself to breathe slowly, Jack prepared himself for the fight. Using his advantage, he carefully memorized where each of the aliens were, and tried to come up with the best way of disposing of them. Checking his phaser to see if its shielding was in place, Jack ran over his mental list one more time. 

_I'll be coming out of the Jeffries tube on the second level of main engineering. Three aliens are near the main entrance. Shoot them. Roll to the right, shoot alien overlooking main engineering. Run down width of the room, shooting the five aliens located in the main work area, two near main reactor console, two at subspace controls, and one as backup for the three near main entrance. _

_Then wait for three seconds, to check for reinforcements. If reinforcements come, they'll either come out of the chief engineer's office, or through the main door. Using my superior tactical position, they'll be dead when they enter. _

_Next step: disabling the main reactor. _Contrary to what people would think, it's actually pretty simple to get the main reactor of a starship off-line. All reactors are matter/anti-matter reactors, drawing power from combining matter with the antimatter. All someone would have to do is open the anti-matter flows fully by using the manual overrides. The computer would react almost instantaneously, and shut down all anti-matter conduits at the reactor intakes, thus actually prohibiting any fuel from entering the reactor itself. 

_Too risky. If the system fails, we'll have a fireworks display with a radius of half a light year._ _I'll just lock out the controls in the 'off' position. By the time they've cracked the fractal encryption program of Section 31, we'll all be sporting a torpedo casing._ Since everyone on a starship was buried in an empty torpedo casing, by shooting them into deep space, people tended to euphemize being dead by 'sporting a torpedo casing'. 

_Jack was sitting in the dark room for how long now? He didn't care. All he knew was that he was firing live ammunition, and that he would be fired upon with life ammunition. Readying his phaser for the umpteenth time, he waited for the door to slide open. When it finally did, Jack reacted by pure instinct. Rolling out of the door, into the arena, he fired at everything that moved. When his eyes finally adjusted to the bright lights, he started firing on sight, not just movements. _

_He killed 15 Section 31 prisoners that day. "It was a good job," his teachers complimented him. He would graduate on the top of his class. Jack didn't care. He was dead inside. He was cold as ice, and hard as stone ever since… no. he refused to think about what happned._

Jack drew his phaser, readied it, and kicked down the access panel to the Jeffries tube he was hiding in. he dropped precisely in the correct position, and shot the three aliens near the main entrance before any of the aliens knew what was happening. Jack rolled to the right, avoiding fire from the rear alien. Jack shot the alien before even completing his evade-roll. He jumped up, and shot the aliens on the main work area, on the ground floor. He knelt down, level to the main reactor, and counted.

"One on thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand." Jack shot up, and slid down the ladder to the main work level. He used his overrides to dislodge the reactor controls, actually making the computer think that the main reactor had been ejected as a safety measure. Jack then locked down all control with the Section 31 codes. 

The moment the reactor went offline, the ship went into 'emergency low power mode', meaning all lights went off, and most systems were discontinued. Red lights provided a ghostly half-light that provided barely enough illumination to see by. Jack's cold demeanor didn't indicate the mental smile he had flashed when he had felt the ship come to a full standstill, its engines disengaged.

_Job completed. Next stop, deck six, and field distortion amplifiers._ Jack ran out through the main entrance. _Twenty-five minus nine means sixteen left. I can take sixteen of those guys in my sleep._

He soon had to prove it as a team of five aliens came racing down the hall. Jack had pressed himself against the wall, counting on the obscurity of the hallways to cover him. three aliens dropped to his phaser fire before the team knew what had happened. Unfortunately, the two remaining aliens knew he was there, and had pressed in a nearby hall, running perpendicular to the hall jack was hiding in. 

It was like a scene from an old action movie, the good guy shooting at the bad guys, who are ducking behind a wall, after which the roles reversed, and the good guy ducked while the bad guys were shooting. Jack knew Captain Janeway wouldn't appreciate him shooting up her ship like this, so he decided on using trickery. Throwing his phaser where the aliens could see it, he stuck his hands high into the air, and shouted, "I give up! I surrender!"

The two aliens emerged from their cover, one holding his weapon trained on Jack while the other grabbed the phaser. In a flash, jack was on the ducking alien, and twisted him around. His partner's fire hit the alien being used as a shield, while Jack used the second alien's weapon to dispose of the one still shooting at his now dead partner.

Dropping the dead alien, jack retrieved his own weapon, and dashed further down the corridor. With main power off-line, internal sensors were sketchy at best, and Jack counted on the fact that the little skirmish had remained undetected. Ducking in the Jeffries tube not far from the last fight, Jack quickly made his way to deck six. No longer restricted to the now completely dark tubes, Jack ran down the hall to the very front of the ship. 

He was using the tubes only as an elevator now, a means of going from one deck to another. Without main power, the turbolifts were out anyway, and Jack couldn't help but think at the aliens who now had to use the tube system on a totally unfamiliar ship. Jack had help from the night-vision contact lenses he had retrieved from his pocket to see in the totally dark tubes, and the agent knew that there was a big chance the aliens hadn't come _that_ prepared. No guards were standing near the controls Jack wanted to sabotage. 

Thanking his good luck, Jack hurriedly pulled a couple amplifiers from their sockets, and stuffed them in his backpack. 

"I must caution you, Captain. Chances of success are slim. If we execute this tactic, there is a 95% chance we will lose Naomi," Tuvok warned his captain. 

"I know, Tuvok. I know. But my first responsibility is to this crew. There are over 130 people in this cargo bay. We have to try something, or we'll end up as salves, with no possible chance of ever getting back to Voyager. At least now we have a chance," Janeway retorted. Her command mask was fully in place, her emotions buried beneath a hard layer of professionalism. On the inside, however, she could feel her heart break. Sacrificing Naomi was a small price to pay by logical standards. Emotionally, however, Janeway knew she would be devastated, as would most of Voyager's crew be. 

Slamming a lid on all her emotions, forcing herself not to think of what would happen to the girl, Janeway gave the final nod to Tuvok. The Vulcan Chief of Security in turn nodded at the security force he had gathered around him. They would wait for one of the aliens to come through the door, grab him, and make a break for it, hoping to gain full control over the ship before any message could be transmitted to Voyager. 

Waiting came hard for the demoralized Voyager crew, but their patience wasn't tested for long. The doors were rudely thrown open, and fifteen aliens filed through. In their midst, three aliens carried a big cauldron with a smelly and lumpy porridge, that probably tasted worse than it smelled. 

The fifteen armed aliens motioned for the crew to stand in line for the 'food'. As the crew did as their captors wanted, Janeway gave a small, almost invisible nod to Tuvok. She never saw him give a sign to his people. The security people jumped their captors, disarming them using the element of surprise at its fullest. Reinforcements piled through the door, as alarms started blaring. The courage of the captured crew sank in their shoes, but they fought on. 

When there were no more reinforcements, Tuvok led his people through the open doors, armed with the captured alien weapons. Janeway implored them to focus on the here and now, and worry about the future later. She told them that Voyager was their home, and they should fight for it. Most managed to pull themselves more or less together, and continued the assault.

Jack pressed himself against the wall when his keen hearing picked up the sound of boots hitting the floor. Reaching for his phaser, he listened. 

_Just one?_ He thought unbelievingly, leaving the phaser where it was. _I'd better be careful with the energy supply on this thing. Wouldn't want to run out of juice in the middle of a fight. _Reaching into his pocket, Jack withdrew a small fiber. It was made of duranium, the same metal used for ship's hulls. But, because of its small size, it could be easily plied and manipulated. Jack bent the small fiber more or less straight, and wound the ends of it around his hands. 

When the alien ran past him, Jack jumped on his back, slamming the fiber in front of the alien's throat, and jerked backward, as well as upward. A satisfying crunch was audible. 

_Textbook assassination. Quiet, and fast. _Jack could hear the voice of his instructor: _Don't choke the subject. Rather, use the fiber to break the neck of the subject, thus shortening the engagement time. Remember, less engagement time means less vulnerability time._

"Next stop, cargo bay two," Jack whispered to himself, rolling up the fiber, and putting it back in his pocket. The victim remained behind, not worthy of a second glance of the retreating operative. Jack disappeared into a nearby Jeffries tube. While crawling through the all-encompassing darkness, Jack thought of the fact that he should disable the communications system before actually recapturing the ship. 

_With the lockouts I placed on the main power supply, those bastards won't have a chance to use the comm. system. But, to be sure…_

"Computer, status on main computer core?" Jack asked his special communicator. 

_Main core is off-line due to power conservation. Secondary cores are on-line and functioning within operational parameters._

"Computer, place communications systems under level-11 clearance, authorization Dupré-Section 31-omega-three."

_Confirmed. Communications is now under clearance level eleven._

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be too much of a problem, but with only the secondary cores online, and with the main power off-line, it would at least provide a precious commodity: time. Not to mention a ship-wide alert if the lockout was broken. 

Jack emerged on deck eight, and ran silent as a ghost to cargo bay two. Silently opening the doors, the operative slid inside. 

"Naomi? Sweetie? Are you here?" he whispered, flinching at the harshness of his own voice as he whispered the girl's name. His voice softened considerably as the agent forced himself to relax a little. 

"Over here!" Naomi said out loud, causing Jack to whisper a harsh "Not so loud!" when he got to her, he could see her tremble, and look up at him with small, teary eyes. 

Drawing in the girl for a comfort-hug, he whispered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh. But they might overhear us, so we need to be careful, ok?" When the girl nodded her head, Jack couldn't suppress a smile. There was something with the girl reached deeper than all the hard training. 

"The next thing we're going to do is get to Sickbay, Sweetie," Jack said, still holding on to the small bundle in his arms. 

Naomi looked up at him, and whispered back, "Sickbay? Why?"

"We need Anestazine gas. I'm then going to link it to the ship's environmental systems, transfer all emergency power to life-support, and set it 'blowing'. It'll knock out everyone in the entire ship."

"Won't that do the same to us?" Naomi asked. Jack smiled, and rubbed her head affectionately.

"You're a smart girl, you know that?" Jack said, smiling. "But you see, we can transfer Sickbay into a quarantined area, meaning that its life-support systems will run independently from the rest of the ship. So, while everyone takes a nap, we'll be right awake to transport them all into cargo bay one, and seal it. We'll probably be halfway to rescuing the crew before the first of them wakes up."

Naomi smiled as she heard that they were close to going after the rest of Voyager's people. "What about the Doctor?" she asked.

Jack shook his head. "Main power is off-line, so the emergency medical hologram is too," Jack said, referring to the holographic doctor.

"Ah. Okay," Naomi answered.

"So, you ready?" Jack asked. Naomi nodded, and together, they left the relative safety of the dark cargo bay. Very much aware that he was no longer alone, Jack kept his one hand near his phaser all the time. His senses were doing overtime under influence of the adrenalin rushing through his veins. 

"In here," Jack whispered as he opened an access panel. "We're going to climb to deck 5, Sweetie," he told the girl purely to put her at ease before he jumped into the total darkness of the Jeffries tube. He stayed at the front of the tube, allowing Naomi to get in next to him before he sealed the hatch once more. The contacts adapted automatically as they detected low light levels. They switched to the infrared spectrum, allowing the two people to see as clearly in the all-encompassing darkness as others saw in normal light. 

Jack held up three fingers as the couple reached a vertical access ladder, indicating they would be going up three decks. Periodically throwing a look over his shoulder, Jack climbed the ladders, leading his charge to deck five. 

"Deck five," Jack whispered. "A short dash to Sickbay, and we can lock ourselves in."

"Okay," Naomi whispered back. Jack threw her a look, and smiled slightly at her. He had to admit to himself, the six-year-old was keeping herself good, for being under very stressful conditions. His psychology lessons hadn't included the fact that children often anchored themselves to strong adults when under trying conditions. 

Making sure to keep his pace low, jack led Naomi to Sickbay, where he led her inside, and immediately tapped the membrane keypad next to the door.

"There. It's sealed. Now, let's find those canisters of Anestazine gas," Jack said, looking around the dimly illuminated room. 

"Who is to say that I will let you take them?" a voice asked. The next moment, a bald man dressed in the blue Starfleet uniform that indicated he was of the science department. 

"Doctor!" Naomi exclaimed, her smile beaming widely as she found another friendly face. 

"Ms. Wildman? Mr. Dupré? What are you doing, dressed in those clothes?"

"Ship's taken over, Doc. Aliens invaded Voyager, kidnapped Naomi, used her as leverage against the captain, and hijacked the crew. We're the only ones left. Say, I thought you wouldn't be functioning without main power?" Jack asked. 

"My mobile emitter has a separate power supply," the Doctor informed the duo. "But that hasn't answered my question. Where did those clothes come from, and what is in those backpacks?"

"No time, Doc. Where is the Anestazine? Every second is precious."

"Right…there," the Doctor said, pointing in a certain direction, and not even getting the chance to finish his sentence as Jack shot towards the supply cabinet. Naomi raced after him. 

"Can I help?" she asked. 

"Open that panel over there," Jack said, pointing to a Jeffries tube access. "We can access environmental systems easily from in there."

"Okay," the girl answered, dashing to the panel in question with a smile on her face. Pulling at the heavy panel, Naomi managed very little until the Doctor came over to lend her a hand. Jack joined them, loaded with four large canisters of the very powerful gas. He disappeared into the dark tubes, with Naomi right on his tail. 

"How can they see in there?" the Doctor wondered, peering into the darkness. Deciding to stay here, in case something happened, the Doctor returned to his office, to ponder the strange sight of the man and the girl, dressed in black outfits. 

Jack and Naomi returned a couple of minutes later, and Jack sealed the Jeffries tube behind them. 

"Doc? You still here?" Jack asked after sealing the tube. 

"Right here, Mr. Dupré. Now, would you care to explain to me what you are doing? Or have been doing, for that matter?"

"Very simple. I knocked out the main power supply, locked down communications, and made sure that there is no way to get any type of faster-than-light propulsion. Now we're going to disperse the gas over the ship, knocking out all the alien invaders, after which we're going to beam them to cargo bay on, seal them in, and get the ship back operational, to rescue the crew."

"I see. And where did you learn to do all those things?"

"Later, Doc. Right now, I need you to put Sickbay under level-8 quarantine, switching it to its own life support systems. Then I need to tell the computer there is a bio-hazard, so it'll open the air-flow, and thus spreading the gas."

The holographic doctor looked at the agent, and then decided to do as he asked. Jack did seem to know what he was talking about, and the Doctor wanted to have the ship back too. He wasn't about to waste an opportunity. He typed in a few commands in the computer, which noted the quarantine conditions. Then, alarms sounded as the computer notified the 'crew' of a bio-hazard. 

Thankful for the three people in Sickbay, the aliens didn't have time to react as the strong gas flooded the ship. Jack connected his SLCARS to the Sickbay computer, and inquired about the status of the aliens. The computer dutifully informed him that all the unidentified alien life-forms were asleep. 

"Good. Come, Naomi. We're going to the bridge after venting the gas from the ship."

"Why?" the girl asked as she went after Jack.

"The lockouts on the reactor core can only be undone form the bridge."

"I'll come along too," the Doctor decided. "You can answer some of my questions along the way." Jack just grunted, and quietly asked which human- or other- diety he had pissed off. 

Janeway sunk into the captain's chair on the alien bridge. Her worries were increasing by the minute. 

"How far are we?" she asked for what must be the umpteenth time. 

"I think I've got it, Captain," Tom Paris answered. He tapped the console in front of him, and the ship lunged. "I may need some more work to get to know the ship, though," he added quietly. 

"Any status on Voyager?" she asked over her right shoulder, to the console where Harry Kim was tapping at a console, his back turned to the captain. 

"Extreme-range sensors indicate Voyager is adrift, with main power off-line."

Captain Janeway exchanged a look with Tuvok. Could it be… Janeway didn't dare get her hopes up. After all, the alien captors may just as well have been experimenting with Voyager, and blown some relay station, or something similar. 

"I think I've got it, Captain," Tom exclaimed. The ship bucked a little, but it entered warp. 

"Extreme-range sensors are interfered by the warp drive, Captain. As long as we're at warp, we have minimal sensors only," Harry Kim reported. 

"It will have to do," Janeway answered. "Keep going for the last position of Voyager."

"Yes, Captain," Tom Paris answered. 

Jack jumped toward the engineered station on the bridge, and started tapping. 

"What did you do?" Naomi asked as she stared at his fingers racing the keypad. 

"I transferred the main reactor controls to the tertiary optical interlink processor on deck 12. Then I locked out the interlink processor with a fractal encryption code. That way, the controls aren't only gone, they're also encrypted if you do manage to find them. Right now, I'm transferring controls from the processor back to the main computer core. There, that's done. Now, to get the reactor back online…there. In two minutes, the reactor will be back."

"Why the two minutes?" Naomi asked.

"This type reactor requires two minutes warm-up time. We're lucky it hasn't been offline for very long, or it would have been half an hour."

"I see," Naomi answered. "Won't they wake up?" Naomi asked, looking at a bulky alien lying in front of the captain's chair. 

"Not for another two hours," Jack answered the girl.

"I don't think the captain is going to be happy with you hiding your identity from us, Mr. Dupré," the Doctor said, taking advantage of the fact that they had to wait for main power to come back online. 

"I did what I had been ordered to do, Doctor. If that creates animosity, that's too bad."

Naomi turned to Jack, and gave him a smile. "You'll always be my friend, Jack."

Jack couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks, Sweetie. You'll always be a friend of mine, too."

"How about your employers, Mr. Dupré? It sounds as if Section 31 is very big on secrecy. Somehow, I doubt they'll be thrilled to know you exposed their organization to the crew of an entire star ship."

Jack looked back at the Doctor, and the look in the operative's eyes said it all. The Doctor hurriedly shut up. 

When the main lights came back on, Jack immediately ordered all unidentified alien life-forms to be beamed to cargo bay one. the computer executed his commands without a glitch, and the threesome was relieved when the big alien disappeared in the bluish transporter beam. 

Jack sat down at the helm, and started tapping. "I have the ship on sensors… oh, no,"

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"It's flying toward us! They probably know something is wrong!" Jack exclaimed. The weak audible hum of the warp-drive was audible.

_Warning. Speed exceeding maximum tolerance._ The computer warned them. 

Jack jumped up, and ran to the engineering station. The warning discontinued. "I've transferred helm control to this station for the moment. I need to keep this ship going as fast as I can."

"Anything I can do to help?" the Doctor asked.

"Get Sickbay ready. If they know something is amiss…"

"I'm on it," the Doctor said, very gratefully taking the turbolift. Naomi remained behind on the bridge, staring fearfully at the agent working the engineering console. The ship vibrated more than usual, and it was adding to Naomi's anxiety. 

"Jack?"

"Hm?" jack asked, barely looking up from the station. "Ten more minutes," he grunted. "Just ten more minutes and we'll be there."

"Everything is going to be alright, is it?" the little girl asked. 

Jack looked up this time. "I hope so, Sweetie. I hope so. Do me a favor, and go to that console over there." Jack pointed to Tuvok's normal station: operations-tactical. Naomi nodded, climbed the small stairs, and stood at the station. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to look at all the different lights, buttons, and indicators on the console. 

"Now, there must be a communications option there. Look at your left. If you do find it, press it, and select the alien ship. It's on sensors, so it should be listed."

"Okay," Naomi said, looking at the left of the large panel for anything labeled 'communications'. 

"Five minutes," Jack read. 

"Got it!" Naomi exclaimed happily. 

"Great!" Jack said back. "Do audio only."

"Audio only… here it is. Should I press the button labeled video, or the one labeled audio?"

"Are they illuminated?"

"Yes."

"Then press the one labeled video, and the light should dim."

"It's out," Naomi responded, glad everything was working as jack explained it to her. 

"Now press 'open frequency'."

"Open," Naomi answered. 

"This is the Federation Starship Voyager. You are to surrender the crew. You have …four minutes to respond." Jack made a cutting motion, and Naomi pressed 'close frequency'. A chirp confirmed her closing the frequency. 

"Sweetie, I'm now going to teach you how to fire the phasers, ok? In case we need to shop that we're serious."

"Uhm…okay," Naomi answered, smiling widely. She resisted the urge to jump up and down with excitement. 

"It's very easy. On the right, you have the weapons section of the console. Press 'phasers', and the targeting sensors should come online. They'll highlight the aline ship automatically. I want you to press 'manual', and aim right next to the ship."

"I see it," Naomi said. "Phasers…targeting sensors…yes! There they are! Is that the ship Mommy is on?"

"Yes. That's why I want you to aim right next to it. we don't want to hurt anybody, now do we?" Jack told the girl, throwing her a quick smile over his shoulder. 

"Look at the main screen, Sweetie."

Naomi looked up from _her_ station, and stared at the big oval screen at the front of the bridge. The small alien ship was visible.

"I'm coming to a stop. They haven't answered," Jack said, leaving the engineering station. He jumped right next to Naomi. He opened the communications once more.

"This is Voyager. We have retaken our ship, and now request our crew back. If not, we will disable your ship and take them back anyway."

There was no answer. Jack checked the targeting sensors, saw that the phasers were indeed misaligned with the alien ship, and pressed the 'fire' button. Orange-red beams of energy lashed out from the USS Voyager to the boxy alien craft. The shot missed, but Jack was sure the message had come across. 

"This is your final warning. Release the crew of Voyager."

Then, the screen lit up with the face of Captain Janeway. "Stand down, Ensign. We've captured the alien ship. We just didn't know how to work its communications equipment," Captain Janeway said, throwing a pointy look at someone off-screen. Jack felt sorry for whoever had failed to figure out the system in question. 

"I see you managed to free Naomi as well," the Captain said, looking at the child. Naomi smiled at the captain.

"I have, Captain," Jack answered. "We're standing by to beam you all back on board."

"Good work, Ensign," the Captain said before the screen turned back to the external view of the boxy alien ship. 

"Naomi, You have the bridge," Jack said, winking at her. Then, at a conspiratorial tone, he whispered, "You know, I'll try to make a few arrangements, so you can transfer command back to Captain Janeway herself. Would you like that?"

"Sure!" the girl exclaimed, smiling widely. 

"I'm sure your mother's pride will know no limits if you tell her you were in command of Voyager."

Smiling even wider, Naomi nodded. "There's your seat, Acting Captain," Jack said, motioning for the captain's chair. Laughing, Naomi jumped off the chairs, and stared at the center seat. 

"Are you sure…"

"Hey, you're in charge," Jack said, raising his hands. "But I sure wouldn't pass up an opportunity like that," he added, before disappearing in the turbolift. Naomi sat down, her pride knowing no limits. Actually sitting in the captain's chair, and in charge of the bridge, no less! Naomi did realize that it was only for a couple of minutes, and that she didn't actually have to do anything but wait for the captain, but still, she felt proud of herself. 

Jack beamed the last group on board. Of course, Janeway was among the last to leave the alien ship. 

"The Doctor ahs asked everyone to go to Sickbay first, to treat any wounds, or diseases that might have been contracted on the ship," Jack told the group. As he had expected, Captain Janeway started to protest.

"Captain, I arranged for you and ensign Wildman to be checked last, so you can check up on the bridge until everyone has settled in, and Sam can check up on Naomi."

"Thank you," Captain Janeway said, eyeing his uniform strangely. "I'll expect a full report as soon as possible…ensign," she added the last part a little later. Something about the clothes made her sixth sense tingle. 

Jack almost couldn't keep himself from smiling as he joined the Captain in her ride to the bridge. When they got there, ensign Samantha Wildman was still hugging Naomi, crying her eyes out. 

"Captain," both said as the captain emerged from the turbolift. Naomi winked slightly at Jack, who smiled at the girl. Since he was still behind Janeway's back, his head made an almost undetectable motion towards the captain.  

"Captain Janeway, I hereby transfer command of Voyager back to you," Naomi said. Samantha Wildman stared at her daughter just as hard as Captain Janeway was. Jack smiled, and lifted both his thumbs.  

"Thank you, Ms. Wildman," the captain said, composing herself quickly. Naomi and her mother soon cleared the bridge. When they walked past jack, both Naomi and her mother couldn't resist but give Jack a hug before clearing the bridge. Captain Janeway sat down in _her_ chair. 

"I hope I wasn't presumptuous, Captain. But, Naomi behaved admirably, and I thought it would do no harm to reward her," Jack said.

"No, of course not," the Captain said. "You did well, ensign Dupré. Now, I would be most interesting to hear how you managed to retake Voyager, and where those clothes came from."

"Of course, Captain," Jack said, and disappeared in the same lift that delivered Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant-commander Tuvok to the bridge.


	5. part 5

**Rumble on Voyager**. Written by Enterprise1701_d

**Chapter five**

Jack, dressed in a crisp Starfleet uniform, was sitting at the oval table that was at the center of the conference room of Voyager. Also seated at the table were Captain Janeway at the other side of the table, with Commander Chakotay on her right and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on her left. Since delivering his report, Jack seemed to find himself deeper in trouble with each passing moment, culminating with his meeting with the senior officers of Voyager. For the first time, he was grateful for the years of hard training.

Staring back at the senior officers, Jack analyzed their behavior. Chakotay was obviously feeling conflicting emotions: gratitude for reclaiming the ship, but also anger about the deception on Jack's part. Janeway's command mask was nearly perfect, but there were slight indications that told Jack probably more than Chakotay's open face displayed. Janeway obviously placed high emphasis on loyalty, and Jack had betrayed her trust. Tuvok showed no emotions whatsoever, and Jack knew he had an ally. Since the Vulcan had no emotional bias against him, Jack could use simple logic to sway the chief of security in his favor.

"Tell me, Mr. Dupré, if that's really your name, why didn't you tell anyone sooner?" the captain asked suddenly, after silence had filled the room for a couple of minutes. Since Jack had been trained to counter psychological torture as well as physical torture, he had stayed calm. He knew he could handle the situation. He kept himself reminding that this was not a Cardassian or Romulan ship. Both those races were known for their extensive torture practices. 

"I can assure you that my name is Jack Dupré, Captain. As to why I didn't tell you: my orders were very specific. I was not to blow my cover, under any circumstances. I was under orders to investigate certain rumors, and this is all I can share on my mission." Jack's voice was calm and collected. The man appeared unimpressed by sitting at the same table with three high-ranking officers. 

"If you weren't to blow your cover, why did you retake Voyager?" Chakotay asked. 

"Because Voyager is my home now, Commander. If I didn't do it, who would have?"

"The Doctor was still on board. He has retaken Voyager before. And he has retaken the Prometheus from Romulan captors as well," the Captain told Jack. 

"He has retaken Voyager from Seska and the Kazons with the help of ensign Suder," Jack answered back, referring to an event in the past were a renegade Voyager member led an alien race to take over the ship. "The Doctor retook the Prometheus with the help of another hologram, namely an EMH mark II," Jack negated the other event, where the Doctor had been sent to the Alpha Quadrant, and found himself on a captured federation ship. "In any case, although the Doctor's experience is substantial, it is severely limited. I have been trained for a variety of undercover missions."

_"Assassination. Intelligence gathering. Sabotage. Rescue. Reclamation of Federation property. Class-one operative, graduated top of his class. Very impressive, Mr. Dupré," the Section 31 commander said. "We need your expertise as Deep-cover expert. Section 31 thinks that some prominent Federation and Starfleet members are secretly funding and helping the Maquis fight the Cardassians. We need you to investigate those allegations."_

_"Yes, sir," Jack answered. "What is my cover, sir?"_

_"Ex-ensign in Starfleet Security. Mediocre man, retired due to dissatisfaction with the job. You wanted excitement, and you think the maquis can help you with that."_

_"What are my clearances, sir?"_

_"You can use whatever trick you know to keep your cover intact, but be sure never to blow it by appearing too knowledgeable."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"That is all. Good luck, Operative. Dismissed."_

_"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."_

Janeway could feel the situation slipping out of her hands. She was faced with someone who was not intimidated by her rank, her appearance, or the points she made. She was about to ask something, when a call came into the conference room. 

"Excuse me Captain, but is Jack there?" it was Samantha Wildman, Naomi's mother.

The captain stared at Jack, seemingly at indecision for the moment.

"He's here. We're still in a meeting, can't this wait?" the captain's voice became more irritable. 

"I'm sorry, Captain, but it's Naomi. She refuses to go to sleep without Jack here."

"She'll just have to manage," Janeway almost-barked. 

"Excuse me, Captain," Jack said. "Ensign Wildman, can you put Naomi on?"

"Sure, Jack," Samantha Wildman said. Moments later, Naomi's voice came through the link.

"What's the problem, Sweetie?" Jack asked. Chakotay and Janeway startled at the gentleness that suddenly had taken over Jack's voice. 

"I need you to check for monsters," Naomi answered. 

"I'm talking to the Captain right now," Jack said. "So I can't come personally. Say what, Sweetie? Can you borrow your mother's tricorder?"

Naomi hesitated very little, possibly just asking with her eyes. Her mother must have agreed, because Naomi said she could moments later. 

"Good. Now, set the tricorder as I showed you. Only this time set it for motions. Not too sensitive, or it'll warn you of your own breathing, and we wouldn't want that, would we, Sweetie?"

Naomi's voice laughed as the chirping of tricorder controls was audible through the comm.-link. "I have it," the girl answered about half a minute later.

"Good. That should keep you safe for the night." _Now where did that come from? Why am I playing along? Oh, well… in for a penny, in for a pound. _"Monsters are very scared of continuous motion-scans, you know."

"Really? " Naomi asked.

"Really," Jack answered. "The continuous sensor beams make them lose their coherence."

"Okay," Naomi answered, obviously getting into the bed, now that the small handheld sensory device as at her nightstand. "Goodnight, Sweetie."

"Goodnight, Jack," Naomi answered. Samantha Wildman thanked Jack too, and apologized to the captain before breaking off communications.

"Sweet kid," Jack said, his voice returning to normal, all the genteelness seemingly melting as snow in the sun.

"I need you to release access to your personnel records," Janeway demanded, voice icy. Her stare could peel paint of a ship's hull, and her voice backed it up. However, Jack had faced instructors for years that were worse than Janeway. He wasn't trying to get her goat, but he found himself in a very hard situation. He had decided to stay calm, and use logic. It was obvious Janeway was agitated over the call, but she couldn't blame him for helping a child. Certainly not a child as sweet as Naomi.

"I can't do that, Captain. My real records have been uploaded into the computer in order for it to release my real clearance level. I can't release them without damaging Section 31 further than I already have." 

"That's another thing. I've heard rumors on Section 31, but I thought they were just that, rumors. Now I find out you are real. How? Where do you get funding for this?"

"We have been around since the Starfleet charter was signed, over 200 years ago. Since then, we have existed as shadows, rumors and unsubstantial legends."

"Doing what?" Janeway barked.

"Whatever needs to be done, Captain. Cardassia has the Obsidian Order. Romulus has the Tal Shiar. We have Section 31."

"Are you telling us that you are a member of an organization that opposes everything Starfleet and the Federation stands for?"

Jack didn't flinch. "We defend the Federation, Captain," Jack said, standing up. He walked to the replicator. "Computer, this is Jack Dupré, Class-one operative."

_Confirmed._

"Delete all security sensors logs of the last 24 hours using deep-level S31 wipe, and release them."

_Security sensor logs wiped and released._

"Return my personnel files to previous status, and return access level to ensign."

_Jack Dupré, ensign._ The computer noted. Jack smiled weakly. "Computer, confirm my identity."

_Dupré, Jack. Ensign. Current assignment: Security, Beta-shift._

"Thank you," Jack said, sitting back down. He turned to the three senior officers. "I returned everything to the way it was, Captain."

Janeway stared at the man who had just, right in front of them, wiped 24 hours of the sensor logs, and altered his personnel record. "I think we all need time to deal with this," Janeway grunted. "Until we've done so, you are suspended, and all your access has been revoked. I won't confine you to quarters, because you did rescue the crew, and this ship. Dismissed."

Jack stood up, clipped the communicator off his tunic, and threw it onto the table. He took the one pin off his collar, and threw it right next to the communicator. He nodded briefly to the three officers, and strode out of the conference room. Not giving a single look at any of the bridge officers, Jack marched off the bridge, and into the lift.

By the time 12 hours had passed, everyone knew of Jack, and more or less knew what he was. After all, he had been pulled from duty, and Naomi wasn't one to keep quiet about Jack's identity. She had told her mother everything, which had told the rest of the ship. 

Not knowing quite what to do, Jack found himself craving isolation. He wanted to be alone, but everywhere it was the same everywhere: conversations would halt, and people would stare at him, quietly whispering among themselves.

_Alright. You can handle this, Jack. Remember your training. You spent months in isolation cabins, and this is no different. You are in isolation. Treat it as such, dammit! _So, that was what he did. He strode purposely to the mess on deck 2, and planted himself in a chair at an empty table. His back was to most of the patrons, his eyes trained on the outside view. Nobody saw it, but Jack felt infinitely more relaxed now that he could focus on something that wasn't related to his situation. 

"Coffee?" Neelix, the Talaxian cook-annex-morale officer asked. Neelix was the first friendly alien Voyager had encountered in the Delta quadrant, and he had agreed to come along with them for the journey to Earth.

Jack nodded. "Please," he said. The Talaxian poured him a cup of coffee, which Jack took with a polite nod. 

"You know, you don't look very approachable like that," Neelix offered. 

"Really?" Jack asked. "I hadn't noticed," he added sarcastically. Jack looked away from the star field, focusing on at Neelix. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge. Everywhere I go, people have been giving me the cold shower."

"Well, I'm just glad you came through when needed," Neelix said, smiling. "I don't care about people's pasts. You know, this will all blow over."

Jack had no problems with following the jump in thoughts. He had been trained to have a sharp mind. "How do you see that? Janeway butted me off duty, and people have been looking at me as if I am Satan himself." 

"I don't know who or what Satan is, but people who took me in, someone they never knew, aren't likely to kick you off."

"You never heard of the devil, Neelix? Well, Satan's just a name for the devil. That's how they've been looking at me. And I'm not scared of being thrown off. I'm just hoping things won't stay this way for the rest of the trip."

"Well, I don't think so," Neelix said, smiling at Jack, who still looked at impassive as ever. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my stew is going to burn."

Jack refocused on the speckled expanse outside the window. "Easy for you to say," Jack muttered. His thoughts disappeared as he became engulfed in the stars once again. 

No matter how much he wanted to, Jack's trained mind wouldn't detach itself from reality. Every footstep was picked up, every conversation registered. Even though his back was turned to the others, Jack could pinpoint where everyone was. 

_This can't go on,_ Jack's mind whispered. _I need solitude,_ he concluded. He got up, quiet as a ghost, and walked out the door, never bothering to look at anyone. Most people didn't even realize he was gone until they noticed his seat was empty. Then, of course, conversations changed to 'where did he go?'

Jack made his way to the rear of the ship. Even though his access had been revoked, Jack entered the shuttle bay. 

_Security here is abominable. I didn't even have to override anything. I could just walk in._ stared at the huge door at the end of the bay, and his thoughts focused on the expanse that lay behind it. Turning on his heel, he walked to the controls, and opened the doors, making sure the force-field was in place. He ignored the fact that alarms were sounded in the bay, to warn for the opening of the outer bay door.

He left the control station, and walked to the Delta Flyer, one of the shuttles in the bay. Instead of getting in it, and jumped up on its roof. He let his legs hang over the rear edge, and stared out through the crystal-clear force-field to the starry expanse. Having found solitude, Jack finally felt the weight drop off his shoulders. The ship was traveling at low warp, thus creating streaks in Jack's field of vision. He didn't mind…after all, this was no worse than the view he had seen outside the mess window. 

His peace didn't last, as Tuvok came bursting through the door, leading a security team. Jack sighed, and continued to stare out the 'window'. 

"You have a lousy sense of timing, Tuvok," Jack told the Vulcan, without having looked once at him. 

"Indeed. You have been removed from duty, Mr. Dupré. As such, your access to the shuttle bay has been revoked."

Jack refused to sigh, though he really wanted to. "Isolation is preferable to the ship," he told the Vulcan. "And this is the best place for isolation."

Jack was sure the Vulcan had raised one eyebrow when he said, "The brig is sure to give you isolation."

The agent looked at Tuvok for the first time. "Was that a threat, Tuvok?"

"Merely an observation. Now, shall you come willingly, or will we have to use force?"

_You couldn't force me if your lives depended on it, _Jack thought while continuing to look at the streaky expanse, and then finally jumped off the shuttle. He started walking out the bay, with Tuvok and his security team right on his heels. 

"So, are you going to put me in the brig, or were your observations flawed?"

"They were not," Tuvok assured the agent. "However, I believe I shall 'let it go' for the time being." Jack gave a dry snort.

"In that case, you know where to find me," Jack said, turning on his heel and striding back into the shuttle bay. He chuckled inwardly when he heard Tuvok's dry _indeed_. 

Jack sighed as he relaxed against the wall of the brig. He was sitting up on his cot, resting his back against the wall the cot was attached to. Closing his eyes, his mind wandered. The only thing disturbing his peace was the soft hum of the security force field keeping Jack in the cell. The operative tuned out the almost inaudible vibrations.

_Peace. Finally…_His mind flashed to the events during his training he would so much like to forget.

_Jack left the isolation cell, and looked around. No longer was his whole world centered around the small cell. He could see other people. Other halls, and passages. _

_"How did the rest do?" Jack asked his teacher. _

_"Ten others made it, Jack."_

_"Aria?" Jack asked. His mind refused to think straight right now. Otherwise, it would have told him that he and Aria were trying to keep quiet about their relationship. Jack had just tipped his hand. _

_"Student Aria Johansson was…unsuccessful," the teacher said. _

_"Define unsuccessful," Jack asked, turning to the teacher. _

_"She…collapsed psychologically. Now, it is time for debriefing."_

_Jack went trough the debriefing in an almost mechanical manner. He felt cold and dead inside. Aria…imploded? She came in second, right after him! She was so good at these things…Jack knew she was. If it weren't for his ability to amass technical data like a robot, she would have been the first in the class! _

_When he finally was able to see her, Jack found Aria sitting in a chair like a vegetable. No amount of him calling her name, touching her, begging for a sign of life helped. She sat there, staring in front of her, and she stayed that way. Using what little he could use while still in training, Jack arranged for a private room. It wasn't until he graduated that he managed to get her transferred to the best sanatorium in the Federation. The verdict was that she would probably never recover. _

_Jack had kept visiting her, until he was called away on the Maquis mission. Now he would probably never see her again. _

Jack realized he needed to rethink his options. He had his solitude now, and all the time he needed to think. Well, time until Captain Janeway was going to disturb his peace, that is. Jack knew it was only a matter of time before the captain came bursting in, demanding an explanation. He had accepted what had happened to Aria, but that didn't keep him from feeling the sting. 

_Speak of the devil._ Jack's mind muttered as his ears picked up the sound of the detention area's double doors opening. Not opening his eyes once, Jack spoke as the two pair of feet halted in front of his cell. By the time they halted, Jack had already buried his past deep within his mind once again.

"Captain. Commander," he greeted Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Chakotay asked. "We let you walk free on the ship, and you go out of your way to make our lives miserable!"

Jack opened his eyes, forcing himself not to give his 'you're dead' stare. "I need to be left alone, Commander. I need to think, and I can't do it when people keep staring at me. So, instead of being treated like a criminal out there, I prefer to be treated like one in here." Jack's voice was calm, logical. Not a trace of emotion sounded through. 

Jack closed his eyes again, and rested his head against the wall as well. He heard Tuvok join the two officers, obviously returning form some other pressing matter. The operative greeted him, not bothering to look. He could identify most of the crew by the sound of their feet. 

"So, you WANT to be in the brig?" Janeway asked, dubiously. This was one of the few times she actually felt at a loss for words. 

"What I want, Captain, is for everything to return to the way it was. But, I know that's not possible. So, I will use what was taught to me be my employers."

"Which is?" Janeway asked. Her voice sounded cold, but Jack could detect the subtle undertones of confusion. Jack had unnerved her, thrown her off-guard, and the operative knew it. 

"Isolation. Normally, if this were Federation space, I would have contacted Section 31, and be gone off this ship before you knew it. Unfortunately, we're in the Delta Quadrant, so I will just isolate myself from the rest of the ship."

"That's not healthy, Mr. Dupré," Tuvok answered. 

Jack opened his eyes, and forced himself to remain neutral once again. "Not healthy is what's happening out there, Tuvok. People stare at me like I'm a criminal. What is truly dangerous is the fact that I have been under a lot of stress lately, and I'm about to break. Now, Tuvok, you have been trained in the martial arts. You know his dangerous it is to lose your self-control. Well, now imagine what it is like for me, who has been trained not to detain, but to kill." Jack knew his emotions were sounding through. His control was slipping. Closing his eyes, Jack brought his hands together, and forced himself to calm down. 

"That would be…unwanted," Tuvok answered. "What I don't understand is the following. If you have been trained to remain undercover for a lengthy period of time, why are you now losing control?"

"Because, Tuvok, when I'm on a mission, it doesn't matter what I feel. I have objectives to focus on. And when the mission is over, Section 31 retrieves me, and I am allowed to 'acclimatize', so to speak. I can regain my composure, and return to my home until the next mission comes along. Right now, I am not allowed to calm down, I need to keep my defenses up all the time, and I am powerless to defend myself, because I know that, if I do, people will get hurt."

"I see," Tuvok answered thoughtfully.

"What do you mean by 'people will get hurt', Jack? Would you actually attack someone?" Janeway asked. 

Jack thought long and hard about that. He knew he could, and was very likely to, attack someone. He also knew he should tell Janeway that. 

"I can deal with it, captain. This is merely the preferred option. Remove the cause for the problem solves the problem. Right now, the problem is most of the crew. So, I removed the crew. Problem solved."

"_Most_ of the crew?" Chakotay asked. 

Jack actually smiled. It was such an unnatural gesture for the operative it startled the officers. "Naomi and Neelix have been amicable, captain. The rest range from impassive to outright hostile. The latter coming from beta-shift of Security more than the rest of the ship."

"Those were your colleagues. It is natural for them to resent you. You lied to them for six years," Tuvok answered. 

"Like you lied to Chakotay while you were undercover on his ship. Yet, he doesn't resent you. Resentment ages, Tuvok. Things would get back to normal, eventually, yet they won't get back to normal as long as I am not allowed to integrate back into normal routine. By removing me from duty, I am now merely a passenger on a ship where everyone else has to do his or her part to get home. I am made an outcast for saving the ship." Jack snorted. _Some gratitude,_ his mind added.

"I see…" Janeway muttered. "I don't know how much good it would do to return you to your former duties. Now that your secrets are out, and you don't have to hold back, I'm sure you can do a lot more good in some other parts of the ship. B'elanna especially wants to have a word with you. Something to do with modifications you made to the ship while she was away." Captain Janeway referred to B'elanna Torres, the chief engineer of Voyager.

"Section 31 trick. Not good for the engines, but extra speed is sometimes necessary," Jack said, shrugging slightly. "I'm not asking for special treatment, captain. Just allow me to return to my former duties, allow the crew to see that I am still the same guy, basically."

"You have more confidence now, Mr. Dupré. I doubt anyone would see you as the same person you were before," Tuvok interjected. 

"I am. The best covers are based on the operative's own personality. The Jack Dupré you have known for six years was the Jack Dupré that entered Section 31 special ops training."

"We could try it, captain," Tuvok said, appearing to accept that answer.

Janeway seemed to think for a few moments, and then nodded to the officer manning the cell's controls. The force field disengaged. Jack looked on as the captain entered the cell, and stared down at him, as he remained seated on his cot. 

"We'll try this, Mr. Dupré. But one false move, and I'll have you confined to this brig for the rest of the journey!"

Jack got up, towered over the captain, and stared at her. "Just fine," he said. 

"Good," Janeway said, walking back out the small cell. "Report to Security, tomorrow at 1500 hours."

After Tuvok and Chakotay had left the brig, Janeway turned to Jack before leaving herself. "And thank you for saving the ship," Janeway said, leaving. 

Jack cocked his head to one side. "You're most welcome, captain," he whispered, before leaving himself. Jack had a good feeling about tomorrow. Yes, he was sure that everything was going to work out in the end after all.  


End file.
